January '24
A lot can happen in a month. I suppose I should start with the large object that has replaced the tables in the middle of the room. Small Works now has a 55” board shear, courtesy of Amos Kennedy, for the cutting of large paper objects and book board. I am immensely grateful, as these are not very easy to find, and when found, are not usually affordable. It has already had a great effect on what can be produced in the shop, especially book arts related objects.
This space has been increasingly moving towards the book arts, which is comforting. I’ve been energized by the amount of interest in bookbinding—so much so that there is an addition to the open studio schedule, and for the first time, classes. I have long said that I am not interested in teaching classes at Small Works. Part of the reason, is that I want people to be able to approach learning about printing at their own pace, and at their own comfort. The system of orientation and open studio was set up so people could gather the basics, and then be able to use the space to figure out what they wanted to get done. After a few years of this, I’m not sure this is how I want things to continue. As more people are using the shop, I’m starting to look at models that book arts studios and ceramic studios have used in the past, especially their teaching models. These classes often involve a lesson / lab setup, where a technique is shown, and then people can practice that technique at their own pace.
There are now three classes available, which I am still working out, but I would like to get to a place where this lesson / lab environment can exist. I would also like to have more goal oriented learning, where there is an end goal in mind that many people work towards at the same time, and we all are working to help each other reach those goals. I think bookbinding is the easiest for me to conceptualize, but I think there is a way to do it with printing classes as well. In any case, if you have suggestions, feel free to email me about it. That’s all for this month. There’s more to share, but I’ve reached my writing time limit.
Shop Update: Open Studio
There are a few updates to open studio. I’m trying out fewer, longer open studio days. I also have a new open studio day for Bookbinding. Open Studio looks like this for February:
Open Studio: Bookbinding — Saturdays, from 12pm–6pm
Open Studio: Letterpress — Wednesdays, from 10am–8pm
Open Studio: Risograph — Mondays, from 10am–8pm
Shop Update: Classes
There are also new classes. Coming up soon are:
Risograph 1: Planning and Production — February 18th, at 10am & 2pm
Letterpress 1: Composition and Makeready — February 25th, at 10am & 2pm
Bookbinding: Trial Class — Saturday, March 2nd, at 12pm
Bookbinding: Case Bound Journal — Saturday, March 15th, at 12pm
As usual, if you go to a link and there aren’t any available days, it means they are already full. However, feel free to reach out and I’ll see if I can find some space if you still want to attend.
If you aren’t already signed up for this newsletter, and you want to see what the shop is up to, feel free to subscribe. I will try to send a newsletter once a month with updates to the shop, and the most recent open studio hours and classes.